Faith Over Pharma | Fertility After Vasectomy Reversal, Hormones & Holistic Health

Susan Gladstein | Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner
  • 4.9 (59)
  • Alternative Health
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TOP 2% GLOBALLY RANKED HOLISTIC HEALTH PODCAST Faith-led fertility support for couples trying to conceive after vasectomy reversal, with a whole-body approach to hormones, health, and the root-cause pieces mainstream medicine often misses. Hi, I’m Susan Gladstein — Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner, Functional Nutrition Specialist, creator of Rooted Fertility™ and Rooted Reset™, and mom of two vasectomy reversal babies born in my 40s. Faith Over Pharma is for the couple who thought getting pregnant after vasectomy reversal would happen faster than this. You’re tracking cycles, timing everything, watching semen analysis numbers, praying for two pink lines, and trying to stay hopeful while each month feels heavier than the last. You’ve been told to “wait and see,” but waiting without a plan is exhausting. You may have been told your only options are IUI, IVF, ICSI, or another medical step. And while you’re not against medical support, something about making those decisions without looking at the whole picture does not sit right with you. I know this road personally. After my husband’s vasectomy reversal, I had my first reversal baby at 40 and my second at almost 45. That journey taught me something I will never forget: Fertility is not separate from health. Here, we talk about what mainstream medicine often overlooks: male fertility, sperm health, semen analysis patterns, hormones, thyroid health, inflammation, nervous system stress, sleep, nutrient status, blood sugar, cycle health, mitochondrial health, and the whole-body factors that may be quietly working against conception. But we also talk about the bigger picture: how to support the body God designed, how to stop chasing symptoms, how to ask better questions, and how to build health in a way that feels rooted, practical, and sustainable. If you believe God designed the body with wisdom and you want to understand how to support it well… You are in the right place. Next Steps Join the Rooted Community susangladstein.com/community Explore Rooted Fertility™ susangladstein.com/fertility Explore Rooted Reset™ susangladstein.com/reset Connect on Instagram instagram.com/susangladstein.co

  1. 14h ago

    118. Food Noise, Fertility & Ozempic: What Your Gut Is Trying to Tell You with Shirley Billigmeier

    If you’ve ever felt trapped in the cycle of dieting, calorie counting, emotional eating, or constantly thinking about food, this episode is going to challenge everything you thought you knew about hunger, weight loss, and lasting health. Many women—especially those navigating hormone imbalance, inflammation, weight gain, or fertility struggles—are told to “just lose weight.” But what if the real issue isn’t a lack of discipline or willpower? What if your body already has built-in wisdom around hunger, fullness, and nourishment, but years of dieting, stress, food rules, and restriction have disconnected you from it? In this conversation with Shirley Billigmeier, we dive into food noise, the gut-brain connection, emotional eating, Ozempic, and why so many people feel stuck in an exhausting cycle of guilt, cravings, restriction, and shame. Shirley has spent more than 50 years helping people rebuild a healthy relationship with food by reconnecting them to what she calls their natural eating boundaries. Long before gut health and GLP-1 medications became mainstream, she was teaching that the body already knows what it needs when we learn how to listen. We talk about why food can feel so emotionally powerful, how chronic dieting disrupts the body’s natural signals, and why medications like Ozempic may quiet food noise without addressing the deeper root cause. We also explore why not all emotional eating is actually emotional, how inflammation and stress can keep you feeling stuck, and why true healing often starts with rebuilding trust in your body instead of fighting against it. If you’ve spent years obsessing over food, feeling frustrated with weight loss, or wondering why nothing seems to work long term, this episode offers a completely different perspective. There is freedom on the other side of food obsession—and it starts with learning to listen to the body God designed.   Connect with Shirley: Website: www.innergetics.com Email: shirley@innergetics.com http://linktr.ee/shirley418 Instagram: @innergeticsmethod Facebook: www.facebook.com/learn.innergetics linkedin.com/in/shirleybilligmeier linkedin.com/company/innergetics  Download a free copy of Inner Eating: https://www.innergetics.com/book Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

  2. Aug 3

    117. When Parents Stop Outsourcing: Homeschooling, Vaccines, Medical Freedom, and Trusting Your God-Given Discernment with Cheryl Daley

    Have you ever started questioning one system and realized it made you question everything? For many couples trying to conceive after vasectomy reversal, that moment often starts in the fertility world. You’re told your labs are “normal,” IVF or IUI is the next step, or there’s nothing else to look at, but deep down, you know your family deserves more than a one-size-fits-all answer. In this episode, I’m joined by Cheryl Daley, host of The Homeschool How To Podcast, for a powerful conversation about homeschooling, vaccines, medical freedom, parental rights, informed consent, and learning to trust your God-given discernment as a parent. Cheryl shares how COVID opened her eyes to the traditional school system, why she chose to homeschool her children, and how asking better questions about education led her family to think more deeply about childhood health, vaccine requirements, and the medical decisions parents are often pressured to make without full informed consent. Whether you’re questioning vaccine schedules, considering homeschooling, or simply learning to advocate for your family with more wisdom and confidence, this conversation will remind you that you are allowed to ask questions, do your own research, and make decisions that align with your faith, values, and the children God entrusted to you. Connect with Cheryl: Podcast: The Homeschool How To Website: https://thehomeschoolhowto.com/   Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

  3. Jul 27

    116. IVF, Donor Eggs & Adoption: The Fertility Decisions No One Prepared Us For with Kristen Mayer

    What happens when IVF finally gives you embryos, but also leaves you carrying questions no one prepared you to answer? In this episode, I’m joined by Kristen Mayer for an honest conversation about infertility, IVF, donor eggs, adoption, miscarriage, embryo decisions, and faith. Kristen shares how her fertility journey began, what it felt like to be told donor eggs were her only option, and the heartbreak of finding out on Mother’s Day that none of their embryos had made it to blast. After their first failed IVF cycle, Kristen and her husband chose adoption and welcomed their daughter in 2019. Years later, they returned to fertility treatment, walked through more failed rounds and loss, and eventually used donor eggs to welcome their son through IVF. But this conversation goes deeper than the outcome. We talk about the questions many couples are never fully prepared for before fertility treatment, including what to do with remaining embryos, the emotional and spiritual weight of IVF decisions, and why “just do IVF” is not always as simple as it sounds. Kristen also shares how infertility impacted her marriage, her faith, her body, and the way she now sees motherhood, adoption, and trusting God in the middle of a story that did not unfold the way she expected. Connect with Kristen: Instagram: @riseandrootmethod Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

  4. Jul 20

    115. Are You Waiting for Your Life to Begin? Trying to Conceive After Vasectomy Reversal Without Losing Yourself

    Trying to conceive after vasectomy reversal can slowly begin taking over your life. You wait for healing, semen analysis results, better sperm count and motility, ovulation, pregnancy tests, and the month when everything finally changes. Before long, you may not only be waiting for a baby. You may be waiting to feel like yourself again. In this episode, I’m sharing what it looks like to pursue pregnancy after vasectomy reversal without losing your peace, marriage, faith, health, or identity in the process. I take you back into our own journey, from receiving a zero-sperm semen analysis eight weeks after surgery to seeing 131 million sperm just one month later, and then realizing that even a strong semen analysis did not immediately lead to pregnancy. I also share the moment I received notice that I was deploying to the Middle East and felt God ask, “Do you not trust Me?” Choosing to trust His timing led me into a season of rebuilding my own health foundations, prioritizing sleep, addressing lifelong gut issues, healing childhood trauma, strengthening my marriage, deepening my relationship with God, and learning to love myself for the first time. We’ll talk about how fertility can begin consuming your calendar, marriage, intimacy, and peace, and how to use the waiting season to build a healthier foundation without making trying to conceive your entire identity. You are allowed to want the baby deeply. You are allowed to investigate sperm health, hormones, ovulation, and fertility foundations. But you do not have to lose yourself on the way to the baby you are praying for.   Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

  5. Jul 13

    114. When the Journey Starts Consuming Your Peace: Faith, Burnout, and Letting Go of Control with Antoniette Roze

    Trying to conceive after vasectomy reversal can start to feel like a full-time job. You're tracking ovulation, watching semen analysis results, researching supplements, timing everything perfectly, and praying this month will finally be the month. Before long, the journey that started with hope can begin consuming your peace. In this episode, I'm joined by Antoniette Roze, host of the SPEAKPact Podcast and founder of WPC Speakers Global Agency, for a conversation that speaks deeply to the emotional weight so many couples carry after vasectomy reversal: waiting, hoping, surrendering control, and learning how to protect your peace when the journey feels heavier than expected. Antoniette shares her powerful testimony of surviving a life-threatening childhood diagnosis after being told there was little hope, and how faith carried her through circumstances that looked impossible. Together, we talk about burnout, overwhelm, perfectionism, using your voice, sharing your story, and learning how to stop carrying things God never asked you to carry. If you've been discouraged by semen analysis numbers, frustrated by delays after reversal, exhausted by the uncertainty of trying to conceive, or simply feeling like the fertility journey has started taking over your life, this conversation will encourage you to take a deep breath and remember who is actually in control. Because sometimes the greatest act of faith isn't doing more. It's surrendering more. And sometimes the peace you're searching for isn't found in another supplement, another test, another protocol, or another month of striving. Sometimes it's found in trusting that God is still working, even when you can't see it yet. God's timing is always perfect, even if it doesn't match up with our own, and He truly writes the BEST stories. Connect with Antoniette: SPEAKPact Podcast - https://speakpact.com/ Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

  6. Jul 6

    113. Doctors Said She Was Dying. God Said Get Up. A Stage 4 Colon Cancer Healing Story for Anyone Losing Hope with LaVonne Chastain and Gaylynn Kapri

    Have you ever been told there was no hope? Maybe it was a diagnosis. Maybe it was a failed semen analysis after vasectomy reversal. Maybe it was low motility, zero sperm, poor morphology, or a doctor telling you IVF was your only realistic option. In this episode, I’m joined by cousins LaVonne Chastain and Gaylynn Kapri for a story that speaks to anyone walking through fear, grief, uncertainty, or a body that feels like it has betrayed them. Gaylynn is a stage-four colon cancer survivor who was once told she was dying. LaVonne is the author of Get Up: The Story of One Woman’s Journey and the God Who Wouldn’t Let Go, the book based on Gaylynn’s life, loss, healing journey, and testimony. Gaylynn’s story is a powerful reminder that your diagnosis, your semen analysis, your labs, or your doctor’s opinion do not get to become your identity. Together, we talk about stage-four colon cancer, radical remission, faith over fear, food as medicine, fasting, trauma, grief, natural healing, and why caring for the body as God’s temple matters when you are believing for healing, restoration, and new life. If you or your husband have been discouraged by post-reversal numbers, told to move straight to IUI or IVF, or left wondering whether healing is still possible, this conversation will remind you to pause, pray, ask better questions, and remember that God is still in the business of restoration. LaVonne and Gaylynn also share the story behind Get Up, the role faith played in Gaylynn’s healing, and why no season of suffering is wasted in God’s hands. Connect with LaVonne and Gaylynn: Website: ValleyGracePub.com Facebook: Valley Grace Publishing Instagram: @valleygracepub   Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Start supporting your body with phototherapy: https://susangladstein.com/phototherapy Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

  7. Jun 29

    112. The Art of the Restart: Root-Cause Healing Beyond Conventional Medicine with Tracy the HopeDealer

    After cancer treatment ends, everyone expects healing to begin. But what happens when you survive cancer and still don't feel well? In this episode, I'm joined by Tracy Robert, also known as Tracy the Hope Dealer, for a powerful conversation about root-cause healing, gut health, chronic illness, faith, fasting, detox, and learning to advocate for your health when you know something deeper is going on. After being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 40, Tracy underwent surgery and treatment, only to spend years battling gut issues, inflammation, SIBO, and discouragement. When conventional medicine offered little beyond symptom management, she began searching for answers beyond the traditional system. As Tracy shares her story, I couldn't help but think about how often I see the same pattern in the fertility world. Whether it's low sperm count after vasectomy reversal, recurrent miscarriage, hormone imbalances, unexplained infertility, or being told IVF is the only option, many couples become so focused on the diagnosis that they never stop to ask why the body is struggling in the first place. We talk about The Art of the Restart, learning to advocate for your health, taking every thought captive, breaking free from chronic illness cycles, reducing inflammation, supporting the body at the root level, and why your diagnosis does not have to become your identity. This conversation is a reminder that healing isn't always about finding the next treatment. Sometimes it's about asking better questions. If you've ever felt stuck, dismissed, discouraged, or like your body is trying to tell you something that no one is listening to, this episode will give you hope and a fresh perspective on what healing can look like.   Connect with Tracy: MosaicWellnessHub.com Instagram: @tracythehopedealer Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracythehopedealer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tracythehopedealer   Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Start supporting your body with phototherapy: https://susangladstein.com/phototherapy Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

  8. Jun 22

    111. GLP-1s, Weight Loss, and Fertility: What Women Need to Know with Bailey King

    If you're trying to conceive and wondering whether weight loss could improve your fertility, this episode is for you. Whether you're preparing for pregnancy, navigating fertility challenges, or trying to conceive after vasectomy reversal, you've probably heard some version of the message: "Just lose weight." But what if the conversation is much bigger than weight alone? In this episode, I sit down with Bailey King, wellness coach, homeschooling mom of six, and creator of The Chaos to Confidence Collective, to discuss the growing popularity of GLP-1 medications, the hidden factors that drive weight gain, and why metabolism, insulin, blood sugar, and overall health matter far more than simply making the scale move. Bailey shares her personal journey through PCOS, Crohn's disease, infertility, medications, restrictive diets, and years of frustration before discovering a sustainable approach built on real food, simple habits, and understanding how the body actually works. Together, we explore why many women feel stuck despite trying everything, the role of insulin and metabolic health, and why optimizing your health can support not only weight loss but also hormone balance, energy, and fertility.   Connect with Bailey: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baileylynnking/ Email: bailey@thechaostoconfidencecollective.com Workshop Application: https://thechaostoconfidencecollective.com/   Next Steps: Join the Rooted Community: https://susangladstein.com/community Start supporting your body with phototherapy: https://susangladstein.com/phototherapy Ready to look at the full fertility picture? Get your Rooted Fertility Audit: https://susangladstein.com/fertility Connect with me on Instagram: @susangladstein.co

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TOP 2% GLOBALLY RANKED HOLISTIC HEALTH PODCAST Faith-led fertility support for couples trying to conceive after vasectomy reversal, with a whole-body approach to hormones, health, and the root-cause pieces mainstream medicine often misses. Hi, I’m Susan Gladstein — Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner, Functional Nutrition Specialist, creator of Rooted Fertility™ and Rooted Reset™, and mom of two vasectomy reversal babies born in my 40s. Faith Over Pharma is for the couple who thought getting pregnant after vasectomy reversal would happen faster than this. You’re tracking cycles, timing everything, watching semen analysis numbers, praying for two pink lines, and trying to stay hopeful while each month feels heavier than the last. You’ve been told to “wait and see,” but waiting without a plan is exhausting. You may have been told your only options are IUI, IVF, ICSI, or another medical step. And while you’re not against medical support, something about making those decisions without looking at the whole picture does not sit right with you. I know this road personally. After my husband’s vasectomy reversal, I had my first reversal baby at 40 and my second at almost 45. That journey taught me something I will never forget: Fertility is not separate from health. Here, we talk about what mainstream medicine often overlooks: male fertility, sperm health, semen analysis patterns, hormones, thyroid health, inflammation, nervous system stress, sleep, nutrient status, blood sugar, cycle health, mitochondrial health, and the whole-body factors that may be quietly working against conception. But we also talk about the bigger picture: how to support the body God designed, how to stop chasing symptoms, how to ask better questions, and how to build health in a way that feels rooted, practical, and sustainable. If you believe God designed the body with wisdom and you want to understand how to support it well… You are in the right place. Next Steps Join the Rooted Community susangladstein.com/community Explore Rooted Fertility™ susangladstein.com/fertility Explore Rooted Reset™ susangladstein.com/reset Connect on Instagram instagram.com/susangladstein.co

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